Intel Core i5-6500 vs AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   If you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a choice after reading the detailed tests Intel Core i5-6500 vs AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core and understand which is better for games or simple use for video editing, machine learning, rendering, streaming, programming. Here you can find useful information from real streaming and video editing tests or many benchmarks. A thorough review of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests like PassMark, 7zip, Prime95, VeraCrypt, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Gears 5, UserBenchmark, 3DMark, Dolphin Emulator, Furmark, Blender, SuperPi, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, WPrime, RealBench, Blender, AIDA64, PCMark 10, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Handbrake, DaVinci Resolve Studio, MATLAB.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

Watch Dogs Legion
Red Dead Redemption 2
Valorant
Grand Theft Auto V
Valheim
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Overwatch
DOOM: Eternal
Last Man Standing
Apex Legends
Fallout 76
Cyberpunk 2077
Borderlands 3
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Rainbow Six Siege
Fortnite
Halo Infinite
Death Stranding
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core or Intel Core i5-6500.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Core i5-6500

51%

FX-8350 Eight-Core

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i5-6500

51%

FX-8350 Eight-Core

51%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And it is clear that this is a server processor, on which no one will run games. Because the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a little game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of less popular games in which processors were compared: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), League of Legends (LOL), Half-Life: Alyx, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Hitman 3, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Metro Exodus, DOTA 2A, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Control, Battlefield V, Ghostrunner, Horizon Zero Dawn, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter World, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), NBA 2K20.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	91.4	91.0
Valorant	103.9	103.4
Cyberpunk 2077	58.2	57.9
Apex Legends	97.6	97.2
Call of Duty Warzone	77.9	77.6
Overwatch	84.1	83.8
Red Dead Redemption 2	71.7	71.4
DOOM Eternal	51.9	51.7
Warzone	81.0	80.7
Assassin's Creed	87.3	86.9
Valheim	86.2	85.9

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. So the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. You will get more accurate information about how powerful the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Core i5-6500

51%

FX-8350 Eight-Core

16%

To make a finishing choice on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Core i5-6500 is more energy efficient than the FX-8350 Eight-Core since it has less power consumption: 65W vs. 125W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. It is necessary to count so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, machine learning, streaming, video rendering or video editing, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the CPU includes all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the software that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can use only one core to run, and all the advantages of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Core i5-6500	AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core
Cinbench 15 Single-core	153	96
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	565	665
Cinbench 20 Single-core	354	209
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1299	1298
Cinbench 23 Single-core	842	581
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	2928	3804

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Core i5-6500	AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core
Single-Core	2149	1551
Multi-Core	5644	5940

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Core i5-6500	AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core
Single-Core	1004	608
Multi-Core	3346	2973

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The newer the processor, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i5-6500	AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core
Announcement date	April 01, 2015	October 01, 2012
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	LGA 1151	AM3+
Core name	Skylake	Vishera
Architecture	x86	Piledriver
Generation	6	1
Turbo Frequency	3.6 MHz	4.2 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	4 MHz
Cores	4	8
Threads	4	8
Bus rate	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	32 nm
Transistors count	1760 millions	1200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	125 W
Memory type	DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V	DDR3
Max. Memory	64 Gb
Memory Frequency		1866
Memory bandwidth	34.1 GB/s
L1 cache		384KB
L2 cache		8MB
L3 cache	6 MB	8MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		FD8350FRW8KHK FD8350FRHKBOX

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here FX-8350 Eight-Core is 19% better than Core i5-6500 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that FX-8350 Eight-Core has 4 more core than Core i5-6500. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-6500 is better: 26
The number of parameters for which AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core is better: 11
However, it should be realized that all the data in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch the video tests and read the opinion of real owners of Intel Core i5-6500 and AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core before making a choice which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Core i5-6500 specs and review.

• AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core specs and review.